MLB commissioner to retire in January 2015

Commissioner Bud Selig and Major League Baseball's executive council announced Thursday the formation of a succession committee, whose work will include the selection process of the game's next commissioner.

The executive council has convened several times in recent months regarding the procedural steps ahead, MLB said in a news release. As a result of those meetings, a seven-member committee has been formed to act on behalf of the executive council in overseeing the succession process and collecting the input of all 30 major league clubs.

"Our committee will conduct a thorough, discreet process and ultimately will provide guidance to the executive council on identifying a successor," DeWitt said in a statement. "All of the parties involved share the goal of acting in our game's best interests, and thus we will refrain from commenting out of respect for the confidentiality of the process."

Selig has led MLB since Sept. 9, 1992, when, as chairman of the executive council, he became interim commissioner. He was unanimously elected baseball's ninth commissioner on July 9, 1998.

On Sept. 26, 2013, Selig announced his plans to retire upon the completion of his current term, which runs through Jan. 24, 2015.

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